


Thoughts of the Forgotten

by rupeecoloredhair



Category: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: tags and characters will be added as story progresses, this is going to contain spoilers as it goes along
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-07
Updated: 2018-02-22
Packaged: 2019-03-15 03:21:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,113
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13604469
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rupeecoloredhair/pseuds/rupeecoloredhair
Summary: Link cannot remember what's happened to him or to Hyrule. With only the stories of others to guide him, he sets out on a new journey to save Hyrule from the evil Ganon and to find what he has lost.--A collection of fics inspired by my playthrough ofBreath of the Wild.





	1. Awake

**Author's Note:**

> I'm so excited to finally start writing this y'all don't even _know_!!!! I'm replaying _Breath of the Wild_ just to make sure I get everything right. There's going to be fights, little reflections, I'll be throwing in some new interactions, and lots of focus on Link as he explores the game. It's going to be cute, and kinda sad, but I do hope you all like it!!

The light comes from nowhere. Pulling him to it, grasping for him and refusing to let go until he can hear it.

_Open your eyes._

_Wake up, Link._

He wakes.

Eyes opening to a view unfamiliar and body heavy from rest, he feels weightless. Surrounded in warmth that he doesn’t want to let go of quite yet. Laying still as his mind catches up with his body.

Where is he?

The room looks as if it should be cold, yet it’s not. Patterns of life glowing with unnatural light made the room look alive yet it’s not. He feels as if he’s staring up at the night sky to see the stars even though he can clearly tell he’s not.

A pedestal grabs his attention. He makes his way to it, reaching a hand for it when it clicks at him. Mechanical noises fill the room as the surface moves and a piece of the pedestal pops up, almost invitingly.

_Take it._

The crystalline voice guides his hand for the...Sheikah Slate. A guide for him? After his long slumber? How long has he been asleep that he needs this slate to guide him?

The pedestal moves again. More mechanical noises fill the room and a part of the wall disappears. A door he didn’t know was there. He moves to it, cautious and curious. Still unsure of where he was or who that voice belongs to or why he’s listening to it, but wanting to know.

The next room looks abandoned. Boxes and chests, old and broken, litter the floor. Intrigue drives him to one of the chests, running a hand over the top of it and jumping back when it pops open. He sees something inside.

Clothes. Worn thin, threadbare, and coming apart at the seams, but clothes all the same. He slips them on. The sleeves are shorter than he’d like.

There isn’t much more to the room. More of that unnatural light lines the empty hall to another door, another pedestal. Stepping to it, the guiding voice returns to him once more. He does as it says, holding the slate over the pedestal until a bright blue light flashes.

An artificial voice fills the room before the sound of mechanics replace it as the door opens.

Sunlight, a breeze, the sounds of nature, all stream in once the door opens. He walks towards it erring on the side of caution. He doesn’t know where he is, or what’s outside, or who keeps talking to him or what is happening...

_Link._

The light is warm. The sun is warm. The breeze feels nice in his hair.

_You are the light-our light-that must shine on Hyrule once again._

He’s missed Hyrule.

_Now go._

Curiosity, longing, the desire to know, the need to remember propel him forward. The harsh stone below his feet turns to soft grass. His boots skim the water when he jumps for the jagged outcropping, scrambling over the edge as fast as he can. Dashing forward, into the sun.

He hears the birds, bugs, the breeze blows stronger once he’s outside. The grass is to his knees. The trees shade him from the sun and the sun is so warm on his face. He can see clouds and the rising sun. The sky is blue and--

_Hyrule._

Sprawled before him like an artistic masterpiece. Overgrown, vast, scenic, a view that he could never forget. Welcoming.

Link smiles wide, tossing his arms to the sky and twirling in the sunshine. He knows Hyrule.

He knows his home.


	2. The Light

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A voice pleas for Link to follow his slate. A golden marker in an empty black space, Link begins his journey on overgrown stone roads. Monsters and creatures greet him, some more kindly than others. Still unsure of what he is doing or why he trusts the voice of someone he doesn't know, Link is anything but cowardly and courageously moves forward to start his new adventure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WHY AM I DOING ANOTHER UPDATE SO QUICKLY?!?!?!  
> The first few chapters or so will come at a much quicker pace than the rest. I want to set the story by exploring Link's thoughts throughout the first bit of gameplay and help y'all get used to how I'll be writing Link. Once we move away from the Great Plateau, I'll have some more fun with writing character interactions and little drabbles about my favorite game mechanics (like cooking!!).  
> I hope you all enjoy!!

Kneeling by the pond, Link watches the Bokoblins from a safe distance. They’re not moving, standing guard over whatever it is Link is supposed to find. He checks the slate at his hip once more. It hums to confirm his thoughts. Whatever it is the voice wanted him to find, it’s being guarded.

He could take them all on...possibly. He grabbed a club from another monster a ways back. That should be plenty to deal with them all. Then again, a club didn’t do well when it came to range and two of those monsters were definitely a little far. He’d have to take down the one monster before the other two shot arrows into his back.

A frog jumps by his feet, croaking quietly. He looks to it. Watching the small animal hop around before it jumps on his leg, croaking again before hopping away. He follows it; crouching in the grass, water soaking his clothes as he moves quietly so to not grab attention.

There’s an outcropping over the monsters. If he’s careful, he could probably crawl over there and surprise them all. Maybe even just drop down on whatever it is he’s supposed to find.

Noises that aren’t the frogs or the fish in the pond grab his attention. Chittering, Bokoblin chittering. There were more? He stands to find the source and wooden planks on the hill in front of him catch his eye. Runes painted on the front, placed in the ground like a wall, hiding something and forcing him to move closer if he wanted a good look.

He barely sees the lookout in time, hiding in the grass before it can see him. Link holds his breath--waiting-- until the Bokoblin looks away again, distracted by something else. Crawling over to the planks, Link is careful to peer between them to see what’s being hidden.

A campsite. Three of the monsters were chittering around a campfire with their weapons to the side. Link can also see a chest atop another lookout tower.

Weapons Link could use, the possibility of treasure...this is a worthwhile risk.

He doesn’t move until the lookout’s back is turned to the camp. Hoping it would buy himself a minute of not having arrows aimed at his head so he could focus on clobbering the monsters that were by the fire. Jumping to his feet, Link hurls the club in his hand and dashes for the pile of weapons. One of the monsters barely has a moment to yell its surprise before Link’s club hits it square in the face. Hefting another club from the weapon pile into his hands, Link instantly wishes for something else.

A sword. He much prefers swords.

The club is already brittle, he can feel it once he swings. One, two, _three_ hits and it breaks apart. A second monster disappears into nothing. The third is-

He falls to his knees, narrowly missing the arrow that whizzes by his head. By now the lookout has caught on to what’s happening. Blowing its horn to alert the already half-dead campsite, Link hopes it doesn’t reach the other three he’d left by the ponds.

He sees a shield on the ground. Wooden, but it would have to do. Rushing forward, he rolls to avoid another arrow that nearly nicks his shoulder, grasping the back of the shield and bearing it just in time to hear another arrow lodge itself into the wood. Too close. Shield up, he stands and runs forward. The Bokoblin archer on the ground misses, he deflects the lookout’s arrow with his shield, turning on his heel he hits the archer in front of him with all his might.

The bow lands on the ground at his feet from a cloud of purple smoke. Kicking it from the ground, he rolls out of the way of another arrow, hand grasping one of the arrows from the now dead monster’s quiver. He kneels, notches the arrow, aims and with one shot he does what the lookout can’t.

Link watches the final Bokoblin fall to the ground in a puff of dark smoke. Waiting to hear if any more are nearby, relieved to hear only the sounds of the plateau answer him.

He slings the bow over his back and moves to grab the supplies now hidden in the grass. Taking the quiver from one of the monsters, he finds arrows scattered on the ground to fill it.

He’s a good shot.

From the outcropping, Link is able to get two of the monsters before they even see him--critically wounding one and downing the other in two quick shots. The third doesn’t even notice its friends are gone, eyes glued to the horizon and completely unaware that Link is above him.

Pulling a sword from his belt, Link adjusts his grip on the hilt. It’s old, rusty, he’d found it in the chest in the Bokoblin camp and grabbed it happily. Much preferring the feel of an old sword in comparison to the bulky monster clubs the Bokoblins carried.

Rolling his shoulders, he dashes for the edge and jumps off with a cry, aiming his blade down right on top of the monster’s head. A surprised cry and then smoke, another dead.  
Now, Link can explore without having to worry about being seen.

He almost doesn’t see what he’s supposed to be looking for. Under the outcropping he had just jumped from, hidden from the sun, surrounded by rocks and reminding him of where he’d woken from. The same whorls of cut rock, stone polished til it shone, and a pedestal that glowed with that unnatural light. This has to be it.

_Place the Sheikah Slate in the pedestal._

It’s the same tinny voice he’d heard from the other pedestals. Taking his slate from his belt, he places it on the pedestal. It moves into place like a key fitting into a lock. The surface of the pedestal moves,as if his slate really is a key; a flash of orange almost blinds him once the slate fits into place.

_Sheikah Tower activated._

Please watch for falling rocks.

Falling what?

The ground shakes violently. Link can’t keep his footing and falls to his back as the ground nearly tears itself apart. Rocks fall around him, sounding like thunder, and then the outcropping above him explodes outward. His stomach lurches as the ground moves skyward, higher and higher until he feels like he’ll never get back down. The spire touches the sky and unfolds. The lights around him turning from fire orange to starlight blue, energy flows around him once it finally stops.

Until he’s so high he can see everything.

_Remember…_

Now on his feet, slate in his belt, the voice calls to him again. He scans the horizon. Searching. The castle on the horizon calls out to him. Too far to be anything more than a silhouette...gold light shines from its heart.

_Try...try to remember…_

It’s the light, it has to be. The light is calling to him.

_You have been asleep for the past 100 years._

100 years? The old man said that Hyrule had fallen 100 years ago. Had he been there when it fell? What happened-

The ground moves again. Link, having dashed to the edge to be closer to the light, gets a glance at the ground far, far below before he rips his head away to look at the castle.

Dark, blood red, piercing gold eyes and a roar that rattles his bones. Power coalesces around the castle in waves of pure energy, a head emerges from the cloud to rear back and roar again. Dangerous, loud, and frightening.

_When the beast regains its true power, this world will face its end._

Link can only watch the beast writhe and coil around the castle. Horns piercing the air, jaws threatening to swallow the castle whole, roaring so hard Link wondered how the castle didn’t crumble under the sheer power of the noise alone.

He has to defeat it. This beast...it’s his to kill.

_You must hurry, Link. Before it’s too late..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Tumblr](http://rupeecoloredhair.tumblr.com/)   
>  [Ko-Fi](http://ko-fi.com/rupeehair)


	3. Three More Treasures

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Link’s mind is set on one thing and one thing only: trading these treasures for the old man’s glider so that he can rescue Hyrule.

Three more shrines, three more treasures.

He heads east first. To Ja Baij Shrine. Guardians litter the ruins of the Eastern Abbey, watching over whatever their blue sights can see. With laser blasts precise and noises unnatural, Link feels unnerved as he ducks from wall to wall. Hiding from their sights as best he can. Climbing walls furiously before falling to the ground with only a second to spare, watching the deadly red laser shoot into the sky. Crawling to the shrine, with an already aching body. Having fought Bokoblins on the way here and now facing mechanical creatures that seemed invincible, all for what? Some cloth and sticks? Couldn’t he make one himself?

Brushing the grass off of his trousers, Link glares to the wall that’s hiding him from the Guardian. He can hear that incessant whirring even from here. It’s already annoying and this thing hasn’t even been alive for ten minutes and he wanted nothing more for it to be dead again.

Two more shrines, two more treasures.

The Forest of Spirits never sleeps. Which is awfully convenient because neither does Link.

He stays still among the grass. Eyes trained on the boar in front of him, arrow aimed at it’s head, arms holding still, unmoving until he lets go. The beast lets out a whine before collapsing and Link lets out the breath he had been holding. He really should be looking for the shrines, but after taking one foot into the mountains and shivering the entire way back down, he knew he needed more supplies.

Food is a good place to start and he had a feeling that elixirs wouldn’t hurt either, if he learned how to make some. Things to help with the chill and with health. He could experiment with the old man, maybe take up his offer for tips. This break of his wouldn’t last too long but just long enough he could get what he needed and move on.

“I know you read my diary,” the man speaks when Link sits across from him, pack of foodstuffs beside him. “I know those peppers as well, you’ve ventured up the mountain, haven’t you?” A quick nod is his answer. “Well, I’ll strike you a deal. Make that recipe for me and I’ll give you my warm doublet. It’ll help you with the cold.”

A more hesitant nod this time. Link does remember what he read, a spicy fish and meat dish. He had fish. He had meat. And he had peppers. Was that all of it or is he missing something too?

Link’s eyes never leave the pot while he cooks. Tossing in the fish and meat before crushing the peppers and tossing them in as well, a simple recipe but sometimes that’s all you really need. He thinks to himself while the food cooks. Before he runs off again, he should string his bow. Get some arrows. Have plenty of food in his pack. Have enough to last him through getting to both Owa Daim and Keh Namut. He doesn’t want to waste time climbing back down the mountain.

One more shrine, one more treasure.

With a cry, the monster falls off the ledge. Link hears the muffled whump of it hitting the snow far down below. He wastes no time in holstering his sword, grabbing what’s left in the campsite, and moving on.

He’s thankful for the warm doublet the old man gave him as the cold wind bites at his cheeks. He’s still freezing but not as much as before. The gloves are a bit threadbare but his fingers don’t feel numb...yet. The cold breeze through his hair keeps him shivering even if not as much as before. At some point, he’ll need a hat. Or cape. Or both. And better boots and pants too. These are barely keeping him warm, especially considering the pants don’t even cover all his legs. These boots are worn too and he can feel snow falling inside them.

He hates the cold.

An exhale of breath forms in front of his eyes in a puff of chilled air while he climbs. Gloves grasping at icy rock, boots slipping on snow, he’s careful the higher he goes. Stopping to breath through the chill for a moment before climbing again. Finally pulling himself over the ledge and crawling into the snowbank with a small feeling of accomplishment. In front of him is a spire twisting even higher, the mountaintop.

Curiosity dares him to climb it.

The path up to the top is covered in snow that poofs when he steps on it. Soft and powdery. He takes his time now. Watching the view of the horizon as he makes his way up around and around. The plateau is stretched before him, beyond it lays Hyrule, and ever higher the sun is beginning to descend. Shielding his eyes from the bright light, he even watches a bird circle high. The path is nearly gone and he dashes forward. Skidding to a stop when the snow ends and stone begins and he’s greeted with the most magnificent view.

Hands on his knees, Link pants for air and smiles at the view. At the setting sun and silhouettes he’s now used to, at the majesty laid before him that makes these seemingly impossible tasks all the more worth it. That make him want to enjoy the moment, ignore the impending doom and enjoy what’s before him.

So he does. Sitting on the ledge and taking some food from his pack, looking outwards. Resting, gaining his strength, enjoying the sunset.

The shrine isn’t too far off. That unnatural orange glow he’s now used to shines brighter as the sun sinks lower. He glances to it. Keh Namut Shrine, the final one before he has to find the old man and trade in his treasures.

Before he can see Hyrule for himself.

Four treasures, four runes, four points on a map.

Looking down at his slate, Link highlights the four shrines. If he drew an X, where would the four points meet?

The Temple of Time. It’s not too far from the Shrine of Resurrection, from where he woke, from the beginning. Without hesitation, Link taps the Shrine and pockets his slate. His skin tingles with energy, blue encompasses his vision, he turns into nothing. Blinking out of existence for moments that feel like nothing. Coming back to himself in a new place, never stepping a foot in any direction but having traveled faster than if he ever had.

He’s never going to get used to that.

His eyes aren’t even open before he’s running. Feet echoing against the shrine floor, the rush in his chest from either nerves or excitement, boots scrabbling for purchase against the ledge before skidding against the grass. The familiar site of the plateau and Hyrule are forgotten. Link turns to the temple and runs. As if the world depended on him getting to that temple.

Then again, it did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Only one more chapter and then Link is off on his adventure!! I had trouble writing this chapter to be honest, I couldn't decide what to keep and what to toss! You can do so much on the plateau and I want to include it all!! I decided it would be best to save some things for one offs, so expect some Link fighting Bokoblin camps in the future.
> 
> You can always come talk to me on [tumblr](http://rupeecoloredhair.tumblr.com/)! And if you like what I do, please consider buying me a [ko-fi](https://ko-fi.com/rupeehair). Things are hard right now and everything is very appreciated. ♥♥
> 
> Ty for reading, I'm really glad some of you like this. I hope to get the next chapter up very soon! ♡♡


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